January Monthly Roundup: Top IT Industry Articles
Posted on Fri, Feb 04, 2011 @ 07:37 AM
Like previous months, we’ve compiled a collection of articles that provide insight on prominent IT topics. January’s roundup takes a look at the evolving IT industry, the impact of cloud computing, the future of personal/desktop computing and enterprise apps in the mobile market.
IT Industry
In “The Straight Talk on IT's New Directions,” Galen Gruman explains that as economic conditions improve, companies will again look to invest in IT. However, they will have much different priorities than they did pre-recession. For starters, they likely won’t be investing as heavily in back office and infrastructure solutions, including security. So, what does the new face of IT look like?
- Mobile Management – As the bring-your-own-device market flourishes and new technologies emerge, companies are seeking support in managing mobile, iPads/tablets, social networking, cloud apps and more.
- Data Analytics – As stated in the article, “analytics, especially around decision support, Big Data and fuzzy data, predictions, and inline adjustments (so-called operational BI), are key.”
- Embrace Non-IT, Tech-Savvy Employees – Work with project managers, product managers and solution architects to define reasonable tech limits and create a culture of teamwork.
Overall, IT needs to think differently, and realize that it should be as big a part of “the strategy, development, and execution teams as any other group.” Read the complete article for all the details on these emerging trends.
Cloud Computing
As cited in Eric Knorr’s article Cloud Computing: IT as Commodity, Siki Giunta, vice president of cloud computing and software services at CSC, expects that “more than half of all IT workloads will become cloud services by 2016.” This is because many IT services will become mass-produced commodities, instead of custom-built solutions.
How will this impact IT as we know it? As Giunta explains, it will lower IT costs since economies of scale will take effect. In addition, it will have a dramatic impact on IT jobs, responsibilities and expectations.
In the Internet of Things and the Cloud CIO of the Future, Bernard Golden predicts that cloud computing will shift the role of the CIO from technology to data. He believes that CIOs will increasingly be expected to make data available within their organizations, and help others understand what can be done with it. This includes building scalable architectures, looking to new storage paradigms (for example, Amazon’s S3) and learning from successful case studies.
He also cites the impending growth of connected devices — those can interact with other devices without any human interaction, and how this too will impact IT operations. In a related, follow-up post, Golden explains that as connected devices become more prevalent, software will automate what were traditionally manual processes. The result is a shift in IT job responsibilities.
For example, enterprise architects will become more important, as added resources will be needed for developing, implementing, and enforcing standardized architectures.
In addition, cloud computing will require:
- A more hands-off approach by operations personnel
- Integration of legal and regulatory teams during the provisioning process
- Enhanced security standards that can support a more open data center environment
- IT financial analysts who can help guide service and resource decisions.
Read Golden’s Cloud CIO: How Cloud Computing Changes IT Staffs for the complete details.
Personal Computing/Desktops
Eric Knorr predicts that in 2011 the personal computer will reinvent itself. He states that “whatever personal computing device you use, desktop or mobile, serves only as a temporary access point for data, preferences and applications. The permanent home for your computing life, to the degree that it exists, will be on a server in the cloud or in your own data center.”
This would enable your desktop to be available for any device at any time, increasing productivity and efficiency of end users – especially mobile workers. While building this virtual desktop won’t be easy, Jon Brodkin offers a look at how some companies are starting to move toward this model in his article “The Complicated New Face of Personal Computing.” Check it out to see how others are managing employee-owned devices, mobile workforces and the work/personal balance as it relates to IT equipment.
In the PC Era is Not Over Yet, Bill Synder argues that the complete shift to mobile and cloud likely won’t happen overnight. He cites privacy, vendor lock-in and spectrum shortage (running out of wireless bandwidth) as key issues that need to be sorted out first.
And, for a look at MCPc’s take on this topic, read The Future of Desktop Computing: 2011 and Beyond.
Enterprise Apps
So, with mobile adoption exploding (in some cases replacing PC use, as seen above) and networks getting faster, a more sophisticated mobile app market needs to evolve, according to Carl Weinschenk in Enterprise Mobile App Development Must Mature Quickly. He explains, “the goal is to design ‘personal enterprise apps,’” that have the same ease-of-use as consumer apps but more robust functionality.
In other words, for mobile to truly become viable alternative app functionality and security needs to improve. And, developers need to work fast to keep up with increased end-user demand, as detailed in this look at the healthcare market.
What Do You Think?
What articles, blog posts, videos or podcasts did you find interesting last month? Post a comment, and we’ll be sure to keep an eye on those sources for future wrap-up articles like this one.
This post is an MCPc blogging team collaboration.
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